Gospel of John 09.vp

Sess ion 1: The Word Made F l esh, the Word Made F i lm: Int roduct ion 21

a. The term “father” occurs no less than 122 times as a reference to God as Father , a unique important theological emphasis. Jesus’ relationship to his Father and the Spirit as displayed in John reveals the intimacy of the Godhead in ways no other text reveals.

b. Throughout his entire corpus John further suggests that this Father God is love (1 John 4.8, 16), an emphasis explored both in his Gospel and his epistles (John 3.16; 1 John 4.10).

5. The Christology of John is both paramount and peerless.

a. Jesus is the enfleshed Word , which was with God in the beginning, John 1.1-3.

b. Jesus is also referred to as “ the Savior of the world ” (John 4.42), which in the context of John means that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of the Prophets (= Messiah ), the Son of God, and his favorite title perhaps taken from the prophet Daniel, “Son of man” (cf. Dan. 7.13 – I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him).

C. A special theological feature and emphasis of John’s Gospel: the glory of God

The Gospel of John provides numerous portraits of the person of Jesus, each providing a rich, textured, and powerful picture of the many-sided glory of the Lord revealed in him.

1. The Word made flesh , John 1.14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.